NukeTalk

A special episode of Press the Button features an exclusive interview with the filmmakers behind Nasrin, a documentary film about Iranian political prisoner Nasrin Sotoudeh. A prominent human rights lawyer and activist, Sotoudeh was arrested in June 2018 for representing women who were protesting Iran’s mandatory hijab law, and she was sentenced to 38 years in prison, plus 148 lashes. An Amnesty International petition calling for her release received over a million signatures from 200 countries. Director/producer Jeff Kaufman and producer Marcia Ross speak with guest host and Ploughshares Fund board member Farshad Farahat about the making of the film, and Sotoudeh's status today.

Learn more about the film and how to watch at www.nasrinfilm.com/

Dr. Vincent Intondi, professor of history at Montgomery College and author of the book African Americans Against the Bomb: Nuclear Weapons, Colonialism, and the Black Freedom Movement, joins Press the Button to discuss how the nuclear issue intersects with the fight for racial equality. Early Warning features Ploughshares Fund's deputy director of policy Mary Kaszynski and Matt Korda of the Federation of American Scientists discussing recent developments on the Iran nuclear agreement and new polling indicating low public support for plans to build a new nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile.

Bob Rosner and Sharon Squassoni of the Science and Security Board at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists join Press the Button to discuss why the Doomsday Clock is still at 100 seconds to midnight, and what must happen before the time is moved backwards. Early Warning features Ploughshares Fund's deputy director of policy Mary Kaszynski on the appointment of Rob Malley as special US envoy for Iran, and the complexities behind US and Iran efforts to re-enter the Iran nuclear agreement.

Drs. Katlyn Turner, Denia Djokic, and Aditi Verma are back on Press the Button to further explore systemic racism in the nuclear field, and how to begin rooting it out. They also discuss the production of their recently co-authored an article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, titled "A Call for Anti-Racist Action and Accountability in the US Nuclear Community." Early Warning features Shannon Bugos of the Arms Control Association and Alicia Sanders-Zakre of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons on the Nuclear Ban Treaty's entry into force and the Biden administration's plans to formally extend the New START Treaty with Russia.

Terrell Jermaine Starr, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center, senior reporter at The Root, and host of the podcast Black Diplomats, joins Press the Button for an in-depth discussion on how violence and racism's influence on US domestic policy also influences its foreign policy. Early Warning features Yasmeen Silva and Colleen Moore of Beyond the Bomb on efforts to enact No First Use nuclear policy, and how to keep the issue in the news after President Trump leaves office.

19th US Secretary of Defense William J. Perry joins a special bonus episode of Press the Button to discuss authority over America's nuclear arsenal in the final days of Donald Trump's presidency, and how there are no safeguards for preventing an unstable president from launching a nuclear strike before leaving office.

Co-host/Policy Director Tom Collina and Sec. Perry in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/22/opinion/nuclear-weapons-trump.html?searchResultPosition=1

POLITICO: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/01/08/trump-still-has-his-finger-on-the-nuclear-button-this-must-change-456667

The Button by Collina and Sec. Perry: https://ploughshares.org/thebutton

Dr. Herbert Lin, senior research scholar for cyber policy and security at the Center for International Security and Cooperation, joins Press the Button for a discussion on cyberattacks and their potential effects on nuclear weapons in the wake of the SolarWinds hack that targeted at least 18,000 government and private networks. Early Warning features Derek Johnson of Global Zero and Patrick Hiller of the Jubitz Family Foundation analyzing last week's attack on the US Capitol and how the nuclear chain of command really works.

National Suicide Prevention Hotline https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

Depression & Bipolar Support Alliance https://www.dbsalliance.org/crisis/suicide-hotline-helpline-information/

Tom Collina's recent op-ed with 19th US Secretary of Defense William J. Perry: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/01/08/trump-still-has-his-finger-on-the-nuclear-button-this-must-change-456667

Drs. Katlyn Turner, Denia Djokic, and Aditi Verma join Press the Button for an in-depth discussion on how systemic racism in the nuclear field is produced and sustained, and what needs to happen in order to begin combating it. Drs. Turner, Djokic, and Verma recently co-authored an article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists titled "A Call for Anti-Racist Action and Accountability in the US Nuclear Community." Early Warning features co-host Tom Collina and our deputy director of policy Mary Kaszynski on incoming National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan's recent comments regarding the extension of New START and support for the Iran nuclear agreement.

A special episode of Press the Button features co-hosts Michelle Dover and Tom Collina looking back at the highlights (and lowlights) of national security and nuclear policy in 2020, and what we can look forward to in the new year.

Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, joins Press the Button for an in-depth discussion on the intersection of the movement for saner nuclear policy and movements for achieving racial justice, protecting the environment and establishing a fairer economy. Early Warning features Liza Arias of Women of Color Advancing Peace & Security and Kaleigh Thomas of Center for a New American Security on the recent SolarWinds hack, which targeted the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and various other US government organizations.